The Toronto Seoulcialite: Canadian travel writer finding food, fashion, and fitness on the road!
Let’s Run: A case where going “Off Track” is a good thing.
The new facilities at the Sheraton Walkerhill Hotel in Seoul, which opened Friday June 3rd, 2016, are clean and quiet. This is a far cry from what I would have imagined having been to some of the casinos throughout Asia. A few juicy details to note before jumping into the nitty-gritty.
In a country the size of Indiana, you would think that the two largest cities would have similar lifestyles. After spending a year in Busan I thought I have conquered Korea enough to hit the capital. Could I have been more wrong?
Korean couples love to get dressed up and wander around the old, traditional towns, as well as the Palaces and the Temples. All this was amplified by the hoopla of Buddha’s Birthday Weekend which has been celebrated as a festival since the Unified Silla era over 1,300 years ago. Yep – he gets the whole weekend, the festival, the parade, and all the beautiful lantern displays at nearly every temple the month leading up to his birthday and for for many, the weeks beyond (at Jogyesa they’ll be around until May 22nd). I guess it’s like leaving your Christmas lights up on your front porch all year long, just a lot less honky-tonk and a lot more beautiful!
After a very relaxing day meandering around Sincheon, we ventured up to the subway and along the green line to Dongdaemun History & Culture Park. This area is one of my favourites already, even though I’ve only explored it for the Indian food (well, Nepalese), and for Seoul Fashion Week. The area is particularly modern because of the architecture surrounding the big Dongdaemun Design Plaza by Dame Zaha Hadid.
I know that I can’t do it all, but I want to. I’m trying to do it all. I want to soak up every last bit of this wonderful, diverse city, but I also feel like I’m riding a constantly moving merry go ’round and step back every time I’m about to get off.
I have been in Seoul nearly two weeks now and it feels like a year’s worth of events have taken place in the blink of an eye. What is “sleep”? What is “free time”? In this video, you’ll see the progression from my suitcases exploding in my new apartment to a place that feels like home.